The Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund
What Constitutes "Distress"
The purpose of the Fund is
to relieve distress or to promote the well-being of individuals
who qualify for assistance. It is difficult to give an
all encompassing definition of the word "distress" as the decision whether
or not distress exists in a particular case is based on the circumstances
of that case. Generally speaking, however, distress is deemed to exist
when an applicant or his/her dependents are suffering hard-ship due to a
lack of the necessities of life, e.g., food, clothing, shelter, and
medical care including hospitalization. Distress may also be evident when
an applicant has personal debts which cannot be met as a result of
unexpected calls upon income due to sickness,
accident, death, or other unforseen eventualities, and where the payment
of such accounts would deprive the applicant or his/her dependents of the
ordinary necessities of life, or would cause undue hardship. In the final
analysis, RCNBF officials, following a thorough review of an application,
must determine the degree of distress associated with that application. In
essence, when a person feels that there is an element of distress in
his/her case an application for assistance should be
completed.
In meeting its secondary
objective of promoting well-being, the RCNBF has no rigid guidelines or
definition although unforseen misfortune and serious debt causing
financial distress are partial prerequisites. The financial status of the
applicant is a prime factor in assessing the merits of each application.
The promotion of well-being might include, for example, financial aid for
transportation in connection with death or serious illness, or aid to meet
unforeseen contingencies or to provide temporary comforts or
amenities.
The Fund is unable to assist
applicants or their dependents to maintain a standard of living which is
clearly beyond their means. Debts for non-essentials or luxuries are not
considered proper grounds to support a request for relief of distress.
Assistance cannot be given to an applicant who is capable, wholly or
partially, of solving his/her own problem by the proper use of income, or
other assets, but who is not making appropriate efforts to do
so.
Applicants are reminded that
the Fund cannot be regarded as an alternative to commercial loan
organizations, and a loan from the Fund is not usually made when the
applicant is in a position to obtain assistance from such other
sources.
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